Giving out charity funds after London disasters was ‘very difficult’, review finds

A review of the London Emergencies Trust, which distributed £11m to victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and several terror attacks, has identified that the charity faced many serious and difficult issues.

The review, conducted by independent consultant Diana Leat, found that there were major difficulties in identifying victims, distributing money fairly, communicating between agencies, and adequately resourcing the core work of the charity.

It found that the skills needed to distribute funds were in short supply and were not easy to access. It also found that the demands and needs of donors and beneficiaries were not easy to balance.

It said there were challenges in deciding who funds should go to in the result of a bereavement, and that the pressure to distribute money swiftly created challenges to giving effectively.

The review praises the work of the charity, saying that it acted well in a challenging environment. However it makes many recommendations about how the sector and government need to change their practices to be more prepared if other such disasters should occur.

“The unanimous view of all those interviewed was that LET did a very difficult job exceptionally well,” the review says. “LET was widely praised as ‘calm’, ‘co-operative’, ‘helpful but not directive’, ‘adult about sharing’ and so on.”